Foodies prepare, dinner just got interesting again. At Rustico Grill, chef Raul Arreola dazzles
Logan Square with his sensational Oaxacan plates in an architecturally sound room tinkered with a bucolic gourd-dripping chandelier hanging from an oak-cloaked ceiling.
A remix of the Lakeview BYO eatery Mixteco Grill, here, drinks make a bold statement with a strapping tequila menu and a matchless cocktail list that includes the Flor de Jamaica: hibiscus flower syrup, Patron Silver tequila, lime juice and club soda, $7. However, margaritas are the focus and the bestseller to date resides with the Rustico version.
Not so much just a remix of Mixteco, Rustico remixes just about everything Mexican Logan Square became accustomed to. The mood here shines light versus frenzied, and the food? Delectable as opposed to palatable. Our only concern rested on the fact that most of the Square's residents have yet to catch whiff of the wood-grilled pork chops and black tiger shrimps. Most visitors made up the reservation making, graystone inhabiting boulevard folk of whom you'll also see walking dogs and taking jogs while dining on the outdoor patio.
Inside, they gather with friends lined along walls accented with grand mirrors, paintings of Latin sentiment, stacked stone and walls coated with earthy browns and jaguar golds. Couples (and anyone who didn't make a reservation) cling to a bar cased before a glass atrium where tropical trees rise and natural sunlight delicately pokes inside.
Begin with the calamares al ajillo: wood-grilled calamari in garlic sauce mixed with baby argula, roasted pepper and esquites, tossed with lime juice ($7.50). Segue to dinner with the salmon en mole amarillo: wood-grilled salmon in Oaxacan yellow mole, served with sauteed vegetables and chochoyotes ($17). And as for dessert, the nevado de chocolate y mole negro (chocolate cake with sweet black mole) works for six bucks. Wines by the glass average $4.55.
Average cost: $21-$30
Centerstage Reviewer: David-Anthony Gonzalez